Team Yumi re-entered the Hidden Leaf Village as the sun began to set over the Hokage Monument. They had just finished a mission, and were on their way to report their success to the Hokage. Despite the time of day, various villagers were running, talking, playing, and laughing through the streets. A few ninja discussed their most recent mission, while vendors tried to sell goods to annoyed customers.

 

"Heh... I really missed being in the village!" Koukon grinned, happy to be back home.

 

"Yeah. We can finally rest." Hikari wasn't as enthusiastic as her friend, but still smiled. "I can't wait to go eat some ramen." She rubbed her stomach, having missed her favorite food.

 

"Of course, that's the first thing you think of. It's always ramen with you." Koukon teased Hikari. "I guess that going to Ichiraku wouldn't hurt, though..." He looked over at his teacher. "Yumi sensei, is it fine if we head off?"

 

"Yeah, I'll go check in with Lord Hokage. You three can go off and get something to eat." The woman smiled back at her students.

 

"Alright!" Koukon shouted, and looked over to his teammates. "Let's go, Hikari! Are you going to come with, Kiniku?" He asked his best friend, hoping that the three of them could go together.

 

"It's been a while since the three of us got to go to Ichiraku together, hasn't it?" Hikari asked. "You should come with us, Kiniku."

Kiniku / Shinachiku

 

"Oh okay. Good call," Kiniku agreed.

"Aw, alright. Let's hope that puppet dork isn't gonna cause anymore trouble in the meantime," Shinachiku said.

Yumi

"Yeah... we're going to have to step up security in the village for a while. We don't really know who we can trust... we've also decided that Hikari's going to need a guard for herself, as well... We don't want to take any risks if this person had any sort of back-up plan."

 

Koukon/Hikari

After a short silence, Koukon spoke up again. "So, uh... What did you want to talk to me about?" He asked Hikari.

 

"O-oh, right..." Hikari's face was bright red, but she still tried to keep it hidden from Koukon. "Um... I'm... kind of worried that something might happen to one of us soon... these opponents we need to face are really powerful..."

 

"We told you before, Hikari. We'll take them down, no problem. If you're worried about me, then I promise I'll take 'em down and come back to tell the tale!" He exclaimed.

 

"K-Koukon, I..." Hikari tried to speak, but paused again.

 

"Everything's going to be fine, Hikari. I told you, I'll make sure of it. We'll all be able to come back and spend time at Ichiraku again. Nothing will change." Koukon looked over at Hikari.

 

Hikari sat up, looking somewhat frustrated. "Koukon... I love you." She forced herself to get the words out. She was a little nervous, but felt much more relieved to finally tell him.

 

Koukon looked surprised. "You mean... uh..."

 

"Yes. Wanting to spend my life with you and that kind of thing. Like that." Hikari explained. "I, uh... know I'm not the type of person you usually go for, but... I thought I might as well let you know." She explained, going back to her usual nervous tone.

Edited July 27, 201510 yr by Shulk

Kiniku / Shinachiku

 

"No doubt. We gotta get this guy and make sure he doesn't have anything up his sleeve," Kiniku said.

Yumi

Yumi nodded. "Yeah. we'll all need to stay alert, and we'll need all the help we can get from you two. I hope you're up to the task." She smiled.

 

Koukon/Hikari

Koukon was still really surprised. "Heh..." He started to laugh a little. "Well, I guess that makes things a little easier on my end." He said, trying to sound cool, but his tone was still rather shaky.

 

"... What do you mean?" Hikari looked confused.

 

"It means I don't have to worry about how you'd feel when I said that I love you too." He still kept up his cool act, but he was visibly shaking at this point.

 

Hikari's jaw dropped. "A-are you... serious...?"

 

Koukon's face turned bright red as well. "Uh... yeah. I've meant to tell you for a while, but I figured you didn't want a guy like me."

 

"... I wish I'd known sooner..." Hikari muttered. "S-so!" She tried to straighten up. "In that case... um..."

 

"Ichiraku tomorrow, right? I'd be fine with that." Koukon said, still shaking despite his act.

 

"Alright, that sounds good." Hikari grinned.

Shinachiku / Kiniku

 

"Oh, that reminds me, Yumi Sensei, I wanted to ask if my team and I can be added to the mission," Shinachiku said.

 

"It would be handy if we had more ninja on task for something like this," Kiniku said.

Yumi

Yumi nodded. "I agree, Kiniku. I'll ask Sai Sensei about having his team join us. We could use all the help we can get!" She told the two.

 

Koukon/Hikari

Koukon and Hikari continued their conversation in the park...

 

(Unless you've got something else you wanted to do, should we skip to the next day soon?)

(Nope. Do it nao.)

(Alrighty)

 

The next morning, both Yumi and Sai stood outside the Hokage's Mansion, waiting for their teams to arrive. No one else had arrived yet, leaving the two jonin to talk for a while. Yumi looked over at Sai awkwardly. ... I feel bad about this, but... Sai Sensei is kind of scary when there's no one else nearby... I heard he can be kind of weird. She thought, hoping that what she had heard was incorrect. However, Sai noticed her staring, and smiled slightly.

 

"Hello, Yumi Sensei." He greeted the woman.

 

"Oh, uh... hi." Yumi returned the greeting.

 

"You know... I don't believe that I have a nickname for you yet." Sai pointed out.

 

... Someone please get here soon... Yumi silently pleaded, having heard all sorts of stories about Sai's nicknames.

Kiniku

 

"Kiniku, reporting for duty!" Kiniku said as he appeared before his sensei in his usual cheerful yet sweaty-from-early-morning-training self.

 

Shinachiku / Daiki / Misaki

 

"We're here too!" Shinachiku called as his and his teammates joined the others.

 

"Yeah, we're ready for the mission!" Misaki said. Daiki simply stood with his arms crossed.

Yumi sighed in relief: "Alright! Thanks for coming along, Misaki and Daiki. We appreciate the help." Yumi smiled at the two. "Now then, we'll be all set to go once the other two get here..."

 

A few minutes later, Koukon and Hikari could be seen running over to the Hokage's Mansion, seemingly in a hurry. They eventually caught up to the others. "S-sorry we're late!" Hikari apologized for the two.

 

"We're ready to head out, though!" Koukon exclaimed cheerfully, while Hikari also smiled in agreement.

 

(Also, now I feel like I need to come up with a Sai-style nickname for Yumi...)

(Ha.)

 

Kiniku 

 

"Lead the way, Yumi and Sai Sensei!" Kiniku said.

"Okay, let's go!" Yumi told the group, and set off. She led the group into the forest outside the village, and began to inform everyone while they were there. "We managed to get some information from Sabaku... She told us that whoever casts this jutsu has to be near the target.That means that, unless they left quickly, they're probably still near the village... We'll split into groups and search the area for the caster. If you find them, give the rest of us some sort of signal. Got it?"

 

"Yes, weirdo." Sai responded, seemingly happy to finally get to share his new nickname for Yumi. Yumi was clearly not amused by the nickname, but managed to keep herself from punching her fellow jonin.

 

"Yep." Koukon and Hikari both responded in unison.

 

"Oh, by the way..." Hikari spoke up. "Before we all split off... This person we're chasing has no sort of moral limits. They'll do whatever it takes to bring us down... Don't confront them alone, or you'll be the next victim. And they'll be sure to torture you, and break you before they cast the jutsu..." She spoke quietly, but just barely loud enough for the others to hear.

 

"I told you yesterday, Hikari. No one's falling for their trap. I'll personally make sure of it." Koukon grinned, causing Hikari's face to turn red.

 

"O-okay." She nodded. He's good at calming me down, at least...

Kiniku / Shinachiku / Misaki / Daiki

 

"Yeah, for sure. We attack as a team. No one has to be a hero. You got that, squirts?" Kiniku asked Team Sai.

 

"Hey, what you take us for? If anything, the only one who would do that is Shinachiku!" Misaki said.

 

"Don't worry, I'm with Muscles on this one. I've fought the puppet guy before and trying to take him head on without back-up isn't a very good idea. Everybody has to watch each other's backs!" Shinachiku said.

 

"Oh... wow, Shinachiku, that's actually pretty smart."

 

"Thanks, Misaki!"

 

"Maybe this is a sign that you'll actually be competent for once..." Daiki snarked.

 

"I don't need your input, Daiki!" Shinachiku snapped.

"Alright, sounds like we're all in agreement then." Yumi said cheerfully. "So... how do you all want to split up? She asked the group. "We could just have my team and Sai's team go their own ways, or if you think smaller groups would work, I'd be fine with that."

 

"You're not coming up with teams for us this time?" Koukon asked, looking surprised.

 

"You're all skilled enough to make your own decisions. Besides, you, Hikari, Kiniku, and Shinachiku know more about this person than I do. I thought I might as well listen to your input before I come up with teams." Yumi explained. "The only rule is that we need someone to keep a close eye on Hikari. The Hokage and I both agreed she needs a personal guard."

Kiniku / Misaki / Shinachiku

 

"Well I'm more than capable of looking after the three squirts here while Koukon guards Hikari," Kiniku suggested.

 

"Hey, wait, why do we need to be looked after?!" Misaki asked.

 

"Yeah, besides, I want to stay with my sister. You, Daiki and Misaki can be a team," Shinachiku said.

Edited July 28, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

"Hm... alright. Kiniku, Misaki, and Daiki can all stick together for one group. Koukon, Hikari, and Shinachiku will form the second. Myself and Sai Sensei will be the third. Hopefully, we can cover more ground that way. Now then... let's get searching. Our target will probably be hidden somewhere, so try to find any good hiding spots." Yumi advised the others, then sped off with Sai in one direction.

 

"Alright, let's head out, too!" Koukon told his two partners for this mission. "Hikari, you're the one with a Byakugan. I'll stay close, but why don't you lead us?" He asked the girl.

 

"I can do that." Hikari said as she activated her Byakugan. "Let's try searching this area, first." She told Koukon and Shinachiku, then went off in that direction, closely followed by Koukon.

Shinachiku / Daiki / Misaki / Kiniku

 

"Right! I'm right behind ya!" Shinachiku called as he went off with his sister and Koukon.

 

"Well, squirts, looks like we're a trio for now," Kiniku said.

 

"You know, you don't have to call us squirts. It's kind of annoying," Misaki.

 

"But you are squirts. Especially compared to me. Heh."

 

"Ugh. Let's just search for the target," Daiki groaned as the three sped towards their own direction.

Hikari scanned the area while the other two followed behind her. "Nothing so far... We've got a pretty big area to search, too." She sighed.

 

"We'll find 'em soon. I need to make sure that I can personally let this person know to not mess with you." Koukon said, sounding somewhat angry.

 

"As long as I can get back at them for what they did to me, too, I'm fine with that." Hikari smirked as she raced alongside Koukon.

Shinachiku

 

"We all will. That puppet freak won't even know what hit him!" Shinachiku said.

"Heh, you've got that right!" Koukon exclaimed. "Nobody messes with a Leaf Ninja and gets away with it, and I definitely won't let anyone get away with hurting Hikari!"

Shinachiku

 

"We better keep our eyes peeled and our ears open. This guy doesn't even need to be on the battlefield to start messing with us," Shinachiku advised.

Koukon nodded. "Yeah, you're right... Hey, Hikari, you find anything yet?"

 

Hikari continued scanning the nearby area. "Not... wait, stay still!" Hikari shouted, trying to tell the others to stop. Thankfully, Koukon managed to stop in time.

Shinachiku

 

The young son of the Hokage stopped as well.

 

"What's up? You see somethin'?" Shinachiku asked.

"It looks like there are some traps set up around here..." Hikari told the other two. "I have no clue what would happen if we set them off, but I'm seeing some weird chakra signatures around here..." She continued searching the surrounding area. "I'm also seeing some weird people... Wait!"

 

"What is it?" Koukon asked.

 

"They've got masks on... they're just like the ones that were worn by those people we fought in the Land of Winds." Hikari responded. "I'd guess that we're getting close to our target..."

Shinachiku

 

"So what's the plan? Are we gonna get the jump on 'em?" Shinachiku asked.